


People You Meet

by Aviaries



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Gen, General, High School Reunion, Marvin goes to his High School Reunion, Runs into some old faces
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 05:16:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17995577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aviaries/pseuds/Aviaries
Summary: Trina Cohen watched her husband shiver under another woman’s gaze. She was standing across from them, across the length of a gymnasium which looked like it hadn’t been worked on since the late 60s. Marvin had tensed, anxious.The thoughts going through Marvin Cohen’s head were these:Trina’s hands were cold.The gym was unreasonably hot.And his high school girlfriend’s gaze was as steely as ever.***Marvin attends his high school reunion and runs into some old faces.***References In Trousers.





	People You Meet

The glance between the two was not missed by the man’s wife.

 

Trina Cohen watched her husband shiver under another woman’s gaze. She was standing across from them, across the length of a gymnasium which looked like it hadn’t been worked on since the late 60s. Marvin had tensed, anxious.

 

Considering the strife between the spouses, Trina may have been slightly gleeful at his discomfort, but realizing that perhaps she should at least be compassionate towards her husband, she said nothing. Instead, she put a hand on his shoulder, trying to be a bit comforting. He relaxed only slightly.

 

The thoughts going through Marvin Cohen’s head were these:

 

Trina’s hands were cold.

 

The gym was unreasonably hot.

 

And his high school girlfriend’s gaze was as steely as ever.

 

Trina wasn’t sure what Marvin wanted her to do about his distress. Neither of them seemed to want to be there. Sure, Marvin had become a great lawyer and was one of the more successful of his class, but everyone else seemed at least happier.

 

The gym was bustling with people saying hello to each other. Everyone being friendly and cordial. Everyone being kind. But Marvin was the ultimate wallflower, and his wife, Trina, was by his side, sipping on punch that was so saturated that she was sure that cavities could be earned by her one drink.

 

Marvin began to usher Trina to move, away from the sight of the woman with the steely eyes, but she seemed vindictive. She wasn’t willing to let Marvin go so easily.

 

Trina wondered why she was wearing a trimmed hat indoors, especially over her light red-gold hair which would look absolutely stunning, but then she thought about how the woman would have to tuck her hat somewhere and that wasn’t practical.

 

The woman approached them, a cheery smile on her face.

 

“Hey, if it isn’t Mr. Christopher Columbus himself.” Her voice was sweet. But Trina could recognize something about it. Something so familiar in it that Trina herself was guilty of. That hidden blade in her voice.

 

Marvin managed a chuckle, trying to hide his distress. “Heeeeey,” he said, biting his lip promptly after. If Trina was unsure what to say, then Marvin practically mute in her presence.

 

Perhaps if his High School Sweetheart were to be kind, she would walk along, as if her reference to their freshman play was only a greeting and nothing else. But her feet stayed planted. That hair swept up behind her head in a neat twist.

 

Neither knew the other would be there. In fact, Marvin had worried about seeing her, but assumed that her hotshot writing job on the other side of the country would keep her away. His miscalculation was the reason the three of them were standing awkwardly.

 

Trina piped up, trying to break the awkwardness. “Marvin, the cat seems to have caught your tongue.” She laughed a bit, though it was a bit hollow. She turned to the young woman, caught up a little in her eyes. Blue-gray, she noticed. “Hi. I’m Trina,” she introduced, a smile finally forming on her face. She put out her hand.

 

The other woman took it. “Hi, Trina. I’m Kathleen.”

 

Marvin seemed surprised. “What happened to Katie,” he asked, confused.

 

It seemed that Kathleen wanted to hold back a scoff. “I grew up a little and found that readers weren’t interested in reading books by a Katie. I have enough trouble as it is with Kathleen, people don’t need to think I’m young and inexperienced.”

 

This seemed to shut Marvin up. If only Trina had that power.

 

“What did you mean by Columbus?” Trina asked after another few moments of painful silence.

 

Kathleen’s face turned to a smile. Devious. “He hasn’t told you? Come on.”

 

With a gesture, Trina found herself following Kathleen into an area of the school she didn’t recognize from a previous one of Marvin’s high school reunions. The library. Marvin trailed behind them, nervous.

 

It wasn’t big by any means. It looked crowded. Most of the books looked old and like they needed new spines. An area by the circulation desk seemed occupied by a row of thick books, years printed on them. Trina realized they were yearbooks.

 

Kathleen searched for a moment but picked out a large red book with 1964 written on the spine. “You’ve got to see pictures of our school play,” she said, turning to pages rapidly. It’s like she knew exactly where to turn, which Trina realized, she didn’t doubt.

 

In grainy black and white was a picture of Marvin, a sailor’s hat on his head, standing on the rickety stage. He was trying to stand with authority. Trina wondered how Marvin could exactly be so bold now when his discomfort was shown in his face. His stance, his appearance, all of it, from what Trina could tell in the photo, was that of power. But in Marvin’s eyes, or what she could make out of them, there was a doubt.

 

Trina knew Marvin was a spoiled child. Never would she say that to his face, but he came from an affluent neighborhood and from a fair deal of money. She couldn’t see how through all of Marvin’s privileged arrogance growing up that he could ever have any doubts about starring in a play.

 

Kathleen seemed to be taking in Trina’s reaction.

 

Marvin stood silently behind them. It was apparent to him that both seemed to forget he was there.

 

There seemed to be a group of people that also filed into the library, with a similar purpose. Trina recognized one of them as a friend of Marvin’s back in the day. There was a photo by their mantle of Marvin and him winning an award for a chess tournament.

 

“Katrina!” He said, happily waltzing up and embracing the woman. Trina wanted to correct him, but he was already moving on to Marvin, gripping his shoulder in that congratulatory way that guys did. Not too much contact. And always a little rough.

 

“Look at you, Marv. Instigating a catfight, are ya? Why didn’t you invite me? Hey, Katie!”

 

Trina stood stunned. The nerve.

 

But Kathleen seemed to understand. She understood all too well.

 

“Bobby,” Kathleen said, almost a greeting but with all the flatness of a statement.

 

“Nice hat, Katie. Turning into Miss G? She started wearing hats and sunglasses. Even inside.”

 

Trina had heard of Miss G before. Well, she had heard of Miss Goldberg. The same person. There weren’t many people she thought that would wear sunglasses all the time.

 

Kathleen scoffed. “No.”

 

The truth was, for all the good Miss Goldberg did as a teacher, Kathleen couldn’t ignore or get over the attention Marvin paid her when Kathleen and Marvin were dating. He neglected so many dates just to be in the play. He ignored her constantly, favoring the chess team. Kathleen was rightfully pissed. And if Trina knew, then maybe she would understand. Marvin, even though he was a fidgeting idiot right now, seemed to have not changed a day.

 

“She’s here, you know,” Bobby said to Marvin more than any of the rest of them.

 

“Miss Goldberg?”  
  
“Yea. Broad’s older now. Kinda funny. But she’s still got that hard ass look to her. She could still kick your butt if she wanted to.”

 

As if that was an actual farewell, he waltzed right out of the library again, his jovial step matching his cluelessness of the discomfort the three were in.

 

Kathleen was the first to speak. “If Miss Goldberg is here, I should probably run. We weren’t on the best of terms at the last one of these things,” she said, a little bitterly.

 

But as if on cue, Miss Goldberg and another woman entered the library, chatting almost carelessly. They stopped. Both of them. Miss Goldberg pausing as she saw Marvin. Marvin wondered if he had imagined the stormy gray of her eyes once. But he could only imagine now what they looked like seeing him.

 

Him. The arrogant fourteen-year-old who had tormented her throughout his high school days. And him, who she had avoided after the freshman play for quite awhile, despite him being in her class. His genius had been shot down by her avoidance, but thinking of it now, it wasn’t genius. It was vanity.

 

“Marvin,” she said, her voice still that distinct sound. Almost indescribable. Her lips pursed. She didn’t even address Kathleen.

 

“Don’t worry,” Kathleen said, trying to initiate a good conversation for once, “I already made the Columbus joke.”

 

This did not seem to satisfy Miss Goldberg. The other woman, a woman about the same age, in her fifties that is, seemed to want to say something. But Miss Goldberg had told her, quite clearly, about everything that had happened in the sixties with this particular student. Her voice said it all. Trouble.

 

“That’s a nice hat,” Trina said, noticing what Bobby had said was correct. The woman was wearing a nice hat trimmed with a few feathers. Almost like a sunhat. It did make sense. It was summer.

 

“Thank you,” Miss Goldberg replied, seeming to appreciate a new voice. “I suppose it would be polite to ask your name. I don’t recall you as being a student.”

 

“Trina. I’m Marvin’s wife,” she replied, a smile forming on her face. While her relationship to Marvin often had her feeling a sense of emptiness, being here, the only one appreciated, made her happy.

 

“Nora Goldberg.” She turned to her companion. “This is my friend Barbara.”

 

Marvin wanted to fidget some more. Memories of high school crept back on him. He remembered his fantasies about the woman, and now he wanted to feel an even bigger sense of shame. The woman was like him. He tried to clear his mind of seeing her face in his English class and imagining what she looked like being the shades. Every eye color was thought of. He wondered what would happen if he took off her glasses back then. He remembered imagining such fantasies. And all of them were burning his mind at this moment.

 

“Nice to meet you.” Trina was the only one managing a sense of decorum. The other two were stalk still and unable to speak.

 

Miss Goldberg seemed satisfied by this. But unlike Kathleen, she had no intention of staying.

 

“I suppose I will see you both at closing remarks,” she said curtly, turning and leaving, Barbara lingering a moment longer to examine Marvin and Trina, before leaving herself.

 

Without another word, Marvin was guiding Trina towards the auditorium, Kathleen following silently after at a distance.

 

The closing remarks were a boring affair. All things about carpe diem and seizing the day. Marvin wondered if these speeches were recycled from back in their high school days, with every pep rally and such.

 

He wouldn’t put it past his garbage school.

 

Kathleen sat a few rows in front of them, Marvin watching the back of her head, with that red-gold hair, almost the entire time.

 

They were released from the darkness of the auditorium about half-an-hour later. Trina went back for one more cup of punch, while Marvin left the building to get some fresh air.

 

Without realizing it, Kathleen was at her side. “You’re brave,” she said simply, as Trina ladled some punch into her plastic cup. She wondered about Kathleen’s statement.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I’m talking about Marvin,” she explained her smile a bit of a rueful twist. “He’s quite a handful. I thought back in the day that he was the one I would marry, but that never happened. I’m surprised he got married at all.”

 

Trina debated a moment explaining. “He didn’t want to,” she admitted. “My father forced us a bit. Nudged us. After a bit of a diversion to both of our lives.” Unconsciously, Trina put a hand to her stomach, and Kathleen immediately understood.

 

“Didn’t think he had it in him,” she said, seemingly impressed.

 

“So you were his high school girlfriend?”

  
  
“His widdle sweetheart,” she said, a cold mocking tone. “Hope he hasn’t made you too bitter. He can be quite a prick.”

 

“I’m afraid,” Trina said, sadness creeping onto her face, “that we might be a little too late for that warning.”

 

Kathleen softened. “Oh. I’m sorry, that was insensitive,” she said quickly, trying to undo the damage.

 

And Trina laughed this time, abandoning the formality and echoing that mocking tone. “Don’t be sorry. He does it to everyone. The death of optimism will be by his hand.

 

They both stood, Trina sipping on her punch, Kathleen picking at her manicured nails.

 

“I love your hat,” Trina said finally, checking her purse for everything she needed. Her lipstick, house key, mirror. She was ready to head out.

 

But Kathleen stopped her. “I’ll send you one,” she said as Trina began towards the door. “I started the trend. Make them myself in my free time.”  
  
“Oh. How much will I owe you,” Trina asked.

 

“On me. Being Marvin’s wife, you earned it.”


End file.
